Bunty

It takes two brothers to keep the bear from getting to the little sister, you said. But sometimes I was the baloney between the two slices of bread. Like when I screamed my head off , saying “Pedal Pannu!!” as you cycled down Seventh Cross, and I thought I’d fall off the cross-bar if you didn’t pedal. You must’ve pretend-pedalled, to humor me, and prayed. Now I wonder why you let your baby sister tag along on these little excursions to Dr. Athey’s house. To humor Amma?

I hated your (and Subri’s) short-cuts through Mohammadan Block, II Block and Rani Sarala Devi, and you walked the long round via South Circle , Kuchalamba and down , down, down the seemingly interminable Seventh Cross, protecting me from the bears, with Subri on the other side.

You told me I came out of a Horlicks bottle, and I long wondered what use you could have for me, a quiet little mouse way away from your universe of cricket, movies and outings to MG Road .. and cousins and friends and summer holidays under the blazing Nellore sun. I remember annoying you (and Subri) when I insisted on buying Amar Chitra Kathas in Kannada……. I wonder what you made of my solitary afternoons at Dr. Athey’s across the road, curled up beside a pile of Sudha reading Ramu-Shyamu, Majanu.and Phantom……yes. in Kannada.

I confess there were times I thought I had two big brothers too many. But it worked out perfect, didn’t it? All the bears that I was kept safe from. I think you were mostly proud of your little sis, and knew you were very special to her, indeed. Though Iwonder if I had become a bear to you lately, I like to think Idid take care of a few bears for you.

I shall watch “Yeh jawani.yeh diwani..” and remember Lalbagh as it once was . The way you probably remember it as you take your place in the sepia-tinted memories of your only little sister. When I bite into a khara bun, or hear the crunch of a Japanese cake , “vettu” a potato fry, and rustle up a vengaya sambhar for a Sunday meal, I shall wait for you to knock on the door and say…….”Ha! Did you think I wouldn’t come?”

And we’d talk about Sweetkharacoffee– You’d say “I have read your blog literature and admire your ability to write so well and so much . Amma yendare aeno thondare was a spoof by the famous Subri-Bunty team in the tradition of other music directors working in pairs. You may recall that Sweet,Kara and Coffee are banned items in our diet. However we will gorge on your blog for a regular supply of Virginia Pak,dose and cawfee!

how very humanely emotional. Exactly a month today, by the week day, still with moist eyes and a heavy heart, I find it difficult to accept that he is not around, physically of course. I will always cherish his affectionate nature, optimism and willingness to tackle life’s challenges, In his own words , a wounded soldier fighting valiantly against destiny’s odds, RIP, my dear brother.

Exactly a month since the wounded, yet valiant soldier was laid to rest, leaving behind highly charged memories. Despite the odds that destiny challenged him with, his desire to achieve never faded.Our family fondly remembers, the now precious moments, we could share with him.May his soul rest in peace,

Hi Jayasree,
That is a wonderful tribute to Bunty.It has been many many years since I last saw him. From my recent conversations with him, Janaki and I were struck by his positive attitude, his desire to get through the therapy and get back to work! There was no indication at all of the struggle he was going through!! Bravo Bunty.
Balu

From Sunder on email–
A beautiful & moving article on Bunty. I am sure they are just starters to the SWEETKHARACOFFEE. I have taken the liberty to share it with Meera & Tara. This was what I tweeted ( I may not have this opportunity of using this word ) about your article which I just forwarded to them.

“A very moving article. The entire family have a gift of writing. I do not know where these people pick up some words which I even grope in Broad daylight ( forget in darkness ). I have not yet replied to her.
I also chanced upon another article in the same link on a wedding at Baltimore ( wedding of Balu’s son ) which is beautifully written by Jayasri.
It is very appropriate to say “ May their tribe increase”.

I am not into Facebook etc and right now I don’t think I will get into it. So will mail you as & when I need to write something on Bunty. To pedal start – here is an extract of what I wrote to Chinnu,Meera , Tara ( when she was in London ) :-

Farewell to my childhood friend ( Farookh Engineer , Geoff Boycott, K D Walters, Eddie Barlow ( South Africa ) , Rohan Kanhai ( West Indies ), Mushtaq Mohammed or Zaheer Abbas as one of them was me – our cricket days where we all used to have our favorites when playing mock Test matches – only 3 of us – he used to keep Statistics for all the matches which used to go on for many years), who gave me more insights to Ian Fleming’s James Bond as a character he created, Sherlock Holmes, Mahabharat – role of Krishna & many more things we used to discuss which used to go into the wee hours of the morning. Some of his ideas were very good. He always loved to admire a character for their attributes like recently in some context he told me like the The Don in The Godfather where you had to be ruthless in your decision making. Udaya liked him a lot and always used to tell me that he looked like actor Ananth Nag.

Oh Thanks for this one Ketaki! I remember that too! And on one of your visits when you were really tiny, you spent the whole time at our place singing “Naan Ketaki, …Naan ketaki” and dashed about the living room like a remote controlled car!!

Hahaha! Mohan when you see a bike without a rider come trundling up to your door.you’ll know its me from Washington DC. I was just a Munchkin on a crossbar at the time, but I did learn to ride a bike and rode the Luna to work for TWO whole years!!

By the way, what is the outcome of your bike learning? Did you finally learn to ride? How about a proof positive by biking ( “pedal panninudu vaa”) from Washington DC to Detroit? Mohan, Manjula, Vinay and Vibha – Detroit Gang

jayashri
So well written. As you know we were very fond of Bunty esp for his grandiose ideas. Even the previous sunday when we met him he was relating to us how he was going to get well soon and start working. He made us some excellent coffee. I have yet to see such a pleasant and caring soul. He is still with us ..always will be
vagis yogi and jayashri

Thanks Vagis, Bunty was just as fond of you all, and there can be no Bunty without his grandiose schemes!! They are the stuff of legend now. He always felt good after your visits and I think I am the biggest beneficiary of his caring nature.

Jayasri,
A really touching article.exactly a month yesterday by the date..still cant get used to the fact that BUNTY is not around…many memories come flooding…..of the one and only BUNTY..

in 1987 i had come for my holidays…..to NRcolony(when you used to stay there jayasri)..bunty opened the door and i was slightly pissed off with something/train journey..whatever……bunty kindly said shailesh BE CIVIL BE CIVIL hahah..it clicked little a few moments later ( duh?!), that it meant B.E Civil …what i was studying…then….

later we went to MG road…appa given me some cash ..and bunty and i went shopping from his office then HDFC..in lovely road (as the autots wud say),sorry lavelle road……!
went to utility bldgs….(hope they have not changed the name!)..searched for T shirt.. ..could not find one of MY size..either TOO loose (i am the thnniest cousin still in the family!!!)..i was a bare 49 kgs or even less then !…

finally bunty came up with a nice sugestion…lets go to this shop……and we will see..i knew what was coming !…I quote him..”” we will see a T shirt of MY (his buntys) size.””..!!!! well well ..kya suggestion hain…..!!! bunty da jawaab nahin as kapil dev would have put it……finally got a YELLOW T shirt…which was loose for me..which T shirt wud fit me anyway then.??.. so Bunty wore the T shirt for a few outings..later i bought the T shirt home to Ahmedababd…..then…!

one day in 1981/82..in your new radio.in 784/2 house,7th block,..they were playing hai re hai neend nahin haay, haay….aaya pyar bhara mausam…..suhaana…..buntys comment..yenaa haai haai paadindirkaa?/singing…..is she happy or sad..yenna vonnume puri liye…haha
bunty they just played the song on fm…now ! mausam in blore..is suhaana/gud…raining…but somehow the charm is missing cos you are not around to quiz music duo LP ..about the Humjoli movie,song.lyrics…!!!!

sad to think that the I wont see bunty in the FUTURE and to think the ONLY movie i seen wih him in 87/88 was BACK TO THE FUTURE in Symphony..!!!!

sigh !

ya finally dont ask thulasi mami for never ending cups of coffee…..!!

Lastly I am happy in last 2/3 years I came often to laxmi vilas and spent time with mami and bunty with Manisha or Shivani…..from Nrcolony…(where I used to stay).

Come back Bunty…the T shirt is yours..YELLOW or any other colour you fancy…!!!

And what shall I say about my room-mate, fellow citizen, President, and Prime Minister of the independent Republic of Arbun Land? Shall I speak of our fondness for Hassan Bakery Toast, so that we made it the Emblem of our sunny little country? How the simple task of removing the cobwebs there was called the Arbun Land Ceiling Act? And that our joint pocket money was called the Arbun Land Development Fund, to be invested almost exclusively in eating Toasts? Or how, on my arriving home with my BE First Year marks card, he stopped me in the doorway and asked me, with mock sternness, “How many 80s”? That he used to spout poetry in pretend-Arabic, with all the roll and cadence of a mullah, “yeppadi”? Or how my trying to teach him Logarithms had him then onwards referring to the iron bar which braced our front door as “Bar One”? Or how after hitting sixes on the Parade Ground on MG Road on Saturdays, we always quaffed tomato-juice-plus-Limca at Gandhi Bazaar on the way home, a recipe he said the shopkeeper was sure to try immediately after we left? Or the long trip home by bicycle (doubles), in the rain, after watching Lawrence of Arabia at Lido…

So many things to remember…..but let me finally that I am proudest to be referred to as “Bunty’s Pocket Edition” !!

Bunty. I remember asking him why is his name Bunty. I remember those days when he came to Hyderabad and took me and dolly for shopping. In spite of being ill, he came along with me for the TOEFL exam.
“Nadi idi” was his favorite word which came from my sister when we were fighting for the gifts which be gave us.
I am sure that he, Tulasi attai and appa are having nice time where ever they are!
RIP Bunty and we will miss you!

So nicely depicted. I recall my summers in Bangalore in Basvangudi, then Jaynagar 7th cross, 8th block, Banashankari (1st stage and 2nd stage),A5, back to Basvangudi. His famous prank or a song “Thala vari ko” still in my ears. Taking me to 4th Block and got me to taste the best “Ragada” in Bharat Cafe and enjoyed some best Draughts in Bangalore. Took me to the club and taught me to play Table Tennis. every incident in front of me. we can write a book on him. So much i miss him and the Banglore with him.

So well written, brought tears to my eyes. Bunty anna was very affectionate. I loved his sense of humor.
I remember…after shifting from New Delhi to Bangalore, we used to visit Chitti-Chittappa’s home every time we visited the Dodda Ganpathi temple. Chitti would make coffee for Anand and specially make badam milk/horlics for me…(I was not brought up to be a TamBram D-I-L :-)). Simply put, I don’t drink either coffee or tea. Apareet used to be the biggest beneficiary of these visits…cute gifts, badam milk, rava kesari, toffees and what not. While gifting Apareet a calculator, I recollect, Bunty anna said, “When ever you use this calculator, remember…that it was used by the great Alladi Ramachandran”. Indeed what a loss!
We will miss Bunty anna and Chitti too. I miss her chutney podis, the badam milk and the warm smile. I had so much to speak to Chitti…just couldn’t do it in the last few months before they bid their final bye to us. I feel so sad.
Rest in Peace Chitti and Bunty Anna…

So well written, brought tears to my eyes. Bunty anna was very affectionate. I loved his sense of humor.
I remember…after shifting from New Delhi to Bangalore, we used to visit Chitti-Chittappa’s home every time we visited the Dodda Ganpathi temple. Chitti would make coffee for Anand and specially make badam milk/Horlics for me…(I was not brought up to be a TamBrahm D-I-L :-)). So, I drink neither coffee nor tea. Apareet used to be the biggest beneficiary of these visits…cute gifts, badam milk, rava kesari, toffees and what not. While gifting Apareet a calculator, I recollect, Bunty anna said, “When ever you use this calculator, remember…that it was used by the great Alladi Ramachandran”. Indeed what a loss!
We will miss Bunty anna and Chitti too. I miss her chutney podis, the badam milk and the warm smile. I had so much to speak to Chitti…just couldn’t do it in the last few months before she bid her final bye to us. I feel so sad.
Rest in Peace Chitti and Bunty Anna…